Suspended ceiling construction



Oct. 29, 1957 N. NELSSON 2,811,036

7 1 SUSPENDED CEILING CONSTRUCTION Filed llarch 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 29, 1957 N. NELSSON SUSPENDED CEILING CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1954 INVENTOR." %e

Unite SUSPENDED CEILING CONSTRUCTION This invention relates to a suspended ceiling construction and more particularly to a ceiling construction wherein the exposed surface, for example, is formed of adhesively secured surfacing elements;

Oftentimes in the erection of a ceiling of this type it is necessary to secure or anchor the wallboard panels, to which the surfacing elements are to be applied, to the overhead supports-by clips rather than nails or screws by reason of the fact that such supports are of channel or some other type of construction not suitable for accommodating or receiving nails or screws. Various clips have heretofore been provided which effectively anchor such panels to supports; however, such clips are suitable for use only in plastered ceiling constructions wherein one or more coats of plaster are applied to the exposed panel surface. In instances, however, where, in place of plaster, surfacing elements, such as acoustical tile, are to be adhesively applied to the exposed panel surface, extreme difllculty is often encountered in positioning the tile so that the exposed sides thereof will lie in coplanar relation. This difficulty stems in part from the fact that the exposed portions of such panel-anchoring clips, which spanned or contacted the exposed panel surface, did not protrude a uniform distance from such surface or else extended too far therefrom, thereby necessitating excessive and variable amounts of adhesive material to be applied to the back or concealed surface of the elements in order to compensate for these protruding exposed clip portions. Due to the varying amount of applied adhesive material required, the adherence of the elements to the panel surface was frequently ineffective and resulted in certain of the elements breaking away from such panel surface after a short period of time. In addition, excessive amounts of adhesive material were used, particularly when the exposed clip portion had a part thereof spaced away from the panel surface, and thus materially increased the cost of erection. By reason of these shortcomings and because of improper clips being used, the quality of the finished appearance of the tiled surface was dependent, to a large extent, upon the skill and experience of the erector.

Still other shortcomings associated with prior clips of this type were the awkwardness in applying the clips to the supports, the need for several persons to aid the erector in supporting wallboard panels while the clips were being positioned in place on the supports, or the ineffectiveness of the clips to remain in engaged position with the support, when portions of the ceiling were sunjected to unusual shock and vibration during erection of the remainder of the ceiling.

Thus it is the object of this invention to provide a suspended ceiling construction which is not possessed of the shortcomings aforenoted and yet is simple and inexpensive to erect and is possessed of improved structural characteristics.

Further and additional objects will appear from the description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.

ice

In accordance with one embodiment *of this invention, a suspended ceiling construction is provided which comprises a plurality of spaced substantially parallel elongated supports arranged in coplanar relation, a plurality of Wallboard panels arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and contacting the exposed side of the supports, clips cooperating with said supports and engaging the exposed panel surfaces for anchoring said panels to the supports, and a plurality of surfacing elements adhesively secured to and overlying the exposed panel surfaces and the portions of the clips spanning such surfaces. Each of the clips, anchoring the wallboard panels in place against the supports, includes an elongated resilient arcuate body section which spans the exposed panel surface and is deformable thereagainst so that the full length of the body section contacts the exposed panel surface and urges the panel against the supports. Formed at one end of the body section and extending obtusely therefrom is a substantially inverted U-shaped section which is adapted to resiliently straddle a support; and formed at the opposite end of the body section and extending angularly there-v from is a substantially inverted |..-shaped section, which is adapted, when the body section is deformed against the exposed panel surface, to assume a slidable snap-on engagement with the same support whereupon the clip is locked in place with respect to the support.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should be made to the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the improved suspended ceiling construction showing parts thereof removed to facilitate understanding of the con struction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a part of the improved suspended ceiling, as viewed from above, and showing one of the anchoring clips in its initial applied position for receiving a wallboard panel;

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar to Fig. 2 and show the subsequent steps to be followed in positioning the panel against the support and anchoring the same thereagainst with the applied clip;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the anchoring clip alone;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one end of the anchoring clip;

Fig. 7 is a right side view of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view of the opposite end of the anchoring clip;

Fig. 9 is a right side view of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is similar to Fig. 9 but shows a modified form of anchoring clip.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, an improved suspended ceiling construction is shown which comprises a plurality of cross members 10 arranged in spaced substantially parallel relation and suspended by guy or hanger wires 11 from overhead rafters or beams, not shown, and a plurality of elongated channel-type supports 12 secured by the tie wires 12 or the like to the underside of cross members 10 and disposed transversely with respect thereto to form a suitable grillage. The elongated supports 12 are arranged in substantially equally spaced parallel relation with respect to one another so that the undersides thereof are in coplanar relation. Contacting the underside of supports 12 are a plurality of wallboard panels 13 of like size and shape arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation with respect to one another. The panels 13, in this instance, are of conventional rectangular shape, and have the longer edge thereof disposed at substantially a right angle with respect to the supports 12. The abutting edges of the panels are reinforced at various locations by reinforcing clips 14 which are well known in the art and are adapted to maintain the abutting panel edges in aligned relation so that the exposed surfaces of the panels are coplanar. The panels 13 are anchored to the underside of supports 12 by a plurality of anchoring clips 15 which have a section or segment 17 thereof spanning the narrow dimension of the exposed panel surface in a manner as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. Ad'hesively secured to and in overlying relation with respect to the exposed panel surface and the exposed clip section 17 area plurality of surfacing elemerits 16 which, in this instance, are shown to be substantially square-shaped acoustical tile.

Each of the anchorlng clips 15, as shown more clearly in Figs. through 9,, is formed of bent wire material and is provided with a resilient. elongatedbody section 17, heretofore mentioned, which normally hasan arcuate shape. Formed at one end of body. meinber 17 is an obtusely extending substantially inverted U-shaped section 18 which is adapted to resiliently straddle a support 12. Formed at the opposite end of body section 17 is a substantially inverted L-shaped section 20 which extends angularly therefrom in substantially the same relative direction as the direction in which the body section 17 is arched and, when the clip is mounted in place, is adapted to slidably engage the same support which is engaged by section 18.

Section 18, as seenmore clearly in Figs. 8 and 9, comprises leg portions 21 and 22 which are interconnected by a bight portion 23. Leg 21 is the longer of the two and has one end thereof integrally connected to body section 17 and extends obtusely therefrom at an angle A. The reason for this angular disposition of leg portion 21 will become evident from the discussion to follow hereinafter. Leg 22, which is the shorter of the two is, in this instance, in offset or askewed relation with respect to leg 21, as seen more clearly in Fig. 9. Leg 22 and bight portion 23 are in coplanar relation and are disposed in a plane which issubstantially transverse to the plane formed by leg 21 and body section 17. Leg 22 is bowed slightly in a direction toward the plane formed by leg 21 and body section 17 and, if desired, the tip or free end 22' of leg 22 may be flared outwardly in a manner as shown in Fig. 8 to facilitate positioning end section 18 into straddling relation with support 12. The bowing of leg 22 assures re silient gripping of the support 12 by the legs of section 18.

A modified form of end section 18' is shown in Fig. wherein leg portion 21, which corresponds to leg portion 21 of section 18, is formed into two angularly disposed segments a and b. Segment 0! is integrally connected to one end of body section 17 and extends at substantially a right angle therefrom. The length of segment a is substantially equal to the thickness of the wallboard panel 13. Segment b is offset relative to segment a and is obtusely disposed with respect to body section 17. The offset segment 12 permits end section 18 to be readily positioned in straddling relation with respect to support 12 without interfering with end section 20 of an adjoining clip which is already in position. The modified end section 18' is adapted primarily for use with panels having square edges rather than rounded. The remainder of modified end section 18 is the same as end section 18 shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

End section 20, as seen more clearly in Figs. 6 and 7, is formed of leg portions 24 and 25 disposed at substantially a right angle with respect to one another and in substantially coplanar relation. Leg 24 is integrally connected to one end of body section 17 and extends substantially transversely therefrom, so that, when the clip is in place with respect to the panel 13), leg 24 will be disposed substantially normal to the exposed panel surface. Leg 25 is disposed at substantially a right angle with re spect to body section 17 and is provided with an offset portion 26 which extends therefrom in substantially the same relative direction with respect to leg 25 as leg 24. The end 27 of leg 25 is inclined upwardly from offset portion 26 and terminates at a point above the juncture of legs 24 and 25--that is to say, on. the opposite side of leg 25 with respect to the offset portion 26, as seen more .clearly in Figs. 6 and 7. The spacing between olfset portion 26 and leg 24 is such as to snugly accommodate the upper side or ledge portion 12a of support 12, as seen more clearly in Fig. 4. By reason of the end 27 of leg 25 projecting upwardly in a manner as shown, sliding of the leg 25 over the support ledge portion 12a is facilitated. The leg 25 is moved relative to support ledge portion 12 until offset portion 26 snaps into place with respect to supportlZ. Once the portion 26 of leg 25 is snapped into place with respect to support 12, the end section 20 is held against accidental disengagement from the support. It will be noted, in this instance, see Fig. 5, that leg 25 of end section 20 extends in substantially the opposite direction from that of bight portion 23 of end section 18, thus eliminating the possibility of the clip tilting or rocking relative to the support once it has been applied thereto.

While end sections 18 and 20 have heretofore been shown and described as having section 18, or a portion thereof, disposed obtusely with respect to body section 17 and section 20 disposed at substantially a right angle to body section 17, it is to be understood, of course, that the scope of the invention is to be construed as including a clip construction wherein the relation of the sections 18 and 20 with respect to section 17 be reversed from that shown and under certain conditions both sections 18 and-20 could be disposed obtusely with respect to section 17. This latter condition may be necessary to effect a more positive contact between the exposed panel surface and the body section 17.

111 erecting the improved suspended ceiling, the cross members 10 and supports 12 which are interconnected to form a grill-age, are suspended a predetermined distance by wires or cables 11 from the overhead rafters. The end section 18 of one of the clips 15 is then placed in straddling relation with a support 12 in a manner as shown in Fig. 2. Where, however, as shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of panels 13 are already in place, the section 18 is positioned in back of section 20 of the preceding clip which is already in snap-on engagement with the support 12. By reason of the obtuse disposition of section 18 with respect to body section 17, the relative disposition of the section 18 withrespect to the section 20 of the clip already in place on the support is facilitated and no interference of the two adjoining clips results. Once and section 18 is in place, arcuate body section 17 will arch downwardly from the support so as to permit a wallboard panel to be disposed between the underside of support 12 and the arcuate body section 17 in a manner as shown in Fig. 3. The panel13 is then moved between support 12 and body section 17 until the elongated edge of the panel engages obtusely extending leg 21 of endsection 18. With the panel so positioned and held in place by one hand of the erector, the erector, with his other hand, grips end section 20 and causes body section 17 to be deformed to a rectilinear shape against the exposed surface of the positioned panel so that the full length of body section 17 is in forcible contact with the exposed panel surface and spans the narrow dimension thereof. Simultaneously with the deforming of section 17, the erector swings end section 20 laterally about end section 18 as an axis, so that the end 27 of section 25 will slide over support ledge 12a and offset portion 26 will snap into engagement with support 12 as seen in Fig. 4.

With the wallboard panels 13 securely held in place against supports 12 by anchoring'clips '15, the surfacing elements 16 are then adhesively secured to and overlie the exposed panel surfaces and the exposed body section 17 of the clips 15, as well. The amount of adhesive material 28 applied to the back or concealed side of the surfacing elements 16 will be such that the elements will have their exposed surfaces in coplanar relation. By reason of the fact that the leg 24 of end section 20 is a length substantially equal to the thickness of panel 13 plus the height of the support side 12b which is disposed normal to the back side of the panel 13 and the fact that leg 21 of end section 18 is slightly greater in dimension than leg 24 but extends obtusely, rather than transversely, from body section 17, the whole of body section 17 of each clip 15 is in forcible contact with the exposed panel surface and protrudes from the exposed panel surface an amount equal only to the thickness of the wire used in forming the clip. By reason of the fact that the clips protrude only this slight amount from the exposed panel surface, no particular difiiculty is encountered in mounting the elements 16 and no excessive amount of adhesive material is required to properly adhere the elements 16 to the panel surface.

It is to be noted that, when applying the clips 15 to a support, the bight portion 23 of the end section 18 of the clip being app-lied is disposed behind leg section of the end section 29 of the clip already in assembled relation with the support. By reason of the relative disposition of night portion 23 and leg section 25 of the adjoining clips, the clip being applied is prevented from becoming disengaged from the support, when the free end section 29 thereof extends freely downward from the support, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

Thus, it will be seen that an improved suspended ceiling construction has been provided which is simple and inexpensive to erect and is possessed of numerous desired structural characteristics. Furthermore, the ceiling may be expeditiously erected with but a minimum of effort and by one not particularly skilled in the art.

While a particular embodiment of this invention is shown above, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be limited thereto, since many modifications may be made, and it is contemplated, therefore, by the appended claims, to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A suspended ceiling construction, comprising a plurality of elongated, relatively spaced, substantially parallel supports arranged in coplanar relation, a plurality of elongated lath panels arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation and contacting one side of said supports, and a plurality of resilient substantially rectilinear wire clips securing said panels to said supports; each of said clips including an elongated initially arcuate body section having the convex side mereor exerting a continuing pressure on the exposed surface of a panel, whereby the full length of said body section is in contact with said exposed panel surface, an inverted substantially U-shaped first section positioned at a first end of said body section and extending at an obtuse angle from the first end portion of said body section, said first section straddling said support, the obtuse angularity of said first section permitting self-adjustment of each of said clips to the varying thicknesses of the supports and the lath panels, and an inverted substantially L-shaped second section positioned at the opposite end of said body section and extending at substantially a right angle from the end portion of said body section at said opposite end, said second section having means adjacent the distal end thereof effecting s-lidable snap-on substantially straddling engagement with said support; said body section protruding from said panel surface only an amount equal to the cross-sectional size of the Wire from which said clip is formed, said first section straddling said support intermediate the first and second sections of a previously applied clip and being disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the second section of the latter, said body section, prior to disposition of a lath panel between said body section and the supports straddled by said first section and prior to deforming of said body section to substantially rectilinear shape being adapted to cooperate with and extend divergently downwardly from the support and to form a pocket to slidably accommodate an inserted elongated edge of the lath panel.

2. A resilient clip for securing a lath panel to a support, said clip comprising an elongated arcuate resilient body section, a substantially U-shaped support-engaging first section having one leg thereof connected to a first end portion of said body section and extending at an obtuse angle therefrom on the convex side thereof, a substantially L-shaped support-engaging second section having the longer leg thereof connected to and extending angularly from the second end portion of said body section on the convex side thereof, the shorter leg of said second section being connected to and extending at substantially a right angle from the longer leg and positioned in substantially right angular relationship to the axis of said body section, said shorter leg including a hump therein adjacent the distal end thereof, said htunp protruding toward said body section; whereby said first section is adapted to straddle and 'non-rotatably engage said support, and said body section, in its relaxed state, is adapted to divergently extend from said support and form :a pocket therewith to receive a lath panel therein, the arcuate body section being adapted to be flexed to substantially rectilinear shape to thereby impart substantially continuous pressure across and against an exposed face of said panel, said second section being adapted to be snapped onto said support with said hump providing positive engagement with said support, the obtuse angularity of said first section permitting the self-adjustment of said clip to the varying thicknesses of lath panels and supports.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,440,676 Groundman Ian. 2, 1923 1,573,783 Raynor Feb. 16, 1926 1,796,959 Raynor Mar. 17, 1931 1,803,632 Makowski May 5, 1931 2,236,581 Schenck Apr. 1, 1941 2,661,515 Nelsson Dec. 8, 1953 2,676,679 Price Apr. 27, 1954 

